SE Asia Stocks -Thai shares fall for 6th day; eyes on govt formation

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

BANGKOK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Stocks in Thailand fell for a
sixth straight session on Friday as a strong sell-off in global
stocks dented sentiment, but optimism over the domestic economy
lifted banking and consumer stocks.
Investors await the formation of an interim government later
this month after Thailand on Thursday set up an interim
legislature which will appoint a prime minister to choose a
35-member cabinet.
"The SET is likely to have a moderate recovery in August
driven by local factors like the setting up of a new government
and possible earnings upgrades from the street to reflect
stronger fundamentals in 2015," broker KGI Securities said.
The key SET index was down 0.6 percent at midday.
It dropped 1.1 percent on Thursday amid foreign outflows and
a weaker baht due to renewed worries about a recession in the
second quarter. However, the Bank of Thailand insisted that
economic activity "likely" picked up in the quarter.
Shares of energy firm PTT fell amid weak global oil
prices. Shares of beverage firms, such as Ichitan Group
and Oishi Group, dropped after a news
report that the revenue department would charge a higher tax on
ready-to-drink green tea.
Shares of Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank
and Charoen Pokphand Foods were among the top
percentage gainers on the index.
Singapore's benchmark index lost nearly 1 percent,
reversing from a rally on Thursday. Shares in United Overseas
Bank Ltd dropped 4 percent after it said its bad debt
charges had doubled in the previous quarter.
Malaysia hovered around its lowest since June 10,
and the Philippines traded in negative territory while
Vietnam was nearly unchanged. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.1
percent.
Indonesian markets have been shut all week and will reopen
on Monday.
The U.S. S&P500 stock index posted its worst daily fall
since April and its first monthly drop since January on
Thursday, as economic data sparked concern the Federal Reserve
could raise interest rates sooner than some have
expected.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change at 0537 GMT
Market Current Prev Close Pct Move
TR SE Asia Index* 435.91 440.11 -0.95
Singapore 3345.91 3374.06 -0.83
Kuala Lumpur 1863.82 1871.36 -0.40
Bangkok 1492.96 1502.39 -0.63
Manila 6860.70 6864.82 -0.06
Ho Chi Minh 596.21 596.07 +0.02
* The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a
highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Sunil Nair)